Throughout the church there are many who are divided on the issue of free will verses predestination. It is a divisive topic and tends to turn into polemics. Nevertheless, it is a very important topic because it concerns your doctrine and what you believe. Hermeneutics is simply your interpretation of scripture. This is important because if you do not know what you believe, you may fall for anything. Some may consider this topic esoteric, but I guess that depends on your level of comprehension.
Many Believers have written books on this very topic. It is a topic that has been greatly explored by pastors, theologians, lay people and the simple. I myself have read many books on this topic and one in particular stands out above them all. It is called "The Sovereignty of God" by Arthur Pink. Arthur Pink dives into the operation of the human will and the sovereignty of God in human affairs. He does not negate the free will of man because God does hold men and women responsible for their choices (Romans 1). He also addresses the sovereignty of God over the will of man using Romans chapter 9. He talks about the sovereignty of God in human affairs, in government, in creation, in salvation, in reprobation and he juxtaposes the sovereignty of God and human will, human responsibility and prayer. At the end of his treatise, he talks about the difficulties and objections many will have as they read this delicate subject. In Romans 9, the apostle Paul also addresses the objections the reader will have with rhetorical questions and irrefutable evidence in response. Arthur Pink bases his understanding on this text in scripture and many others as well.
So Who is regulating the affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? That God reigns supreme in Heaven, is generally conceded; that He does so over this world, is almost universally denied-if not directly, then indirectly. More and more are men in their philosophizing and theorizing, relegating God to the background. Take the material realm. Not only is it denied that God created everything, by personal and direct action, but few believe that He has any immediate concern in regulating the works of His own hands. Everything is supposed to be ordered according to the (impersonal and abstract) "laws of Nature". Thus is the Creator banished from His own creation. Therefore we need not be surprised that men, in their degrading conceptions, exclude Him from the realm of human affairs.
The free will that God has given man is only operational within the proclivities of his or her flesh. He/she is in bondage to sin because his/her mind is darkened in trespasses and sins (spiritually blind). He/she is unable to comprehend the light (Ephesians 2 verses 1-5). As a result, mans' will is bound by their flesh. They are in bondage to sin and death. It is similar to walking into your local morgue. Is it not indeed filled with corpses that are dead? So how then can these dead people choose what they want? We say they cannot because they are physically dead. It is the same thing spiritually. When a soul is dead spiritually, he/she can not and has not the ability to choose life in terms of spiritual means for he is dead in trespasses and sin. By this standard, God will hold each person accountable for their choices. He has given each one of us a free will to choose. But again those who are spiritually dead in trespasses and sin, who with their free will, choose that which is ONLY within the proclivities of their flesh nature. The objection that is raised frequently concerns the matter of culpability. Why does God then hold man accountable when his will is in bondage to sin and death and has not the ability to choose Christ? The irrefutable response is simple. God is the Creator or the Potter. We are the clay. He can do whatsoever He wants and as He wills. Does not the Potter have the right over the clay? He can make one vessel unto honor and one unto dishonor. He is sovereign. His deity and immutability will not be denied Him.
So where does predestination fall into place? I believe it is the efficacious, miraculous grace of God that unveils the blind folds and within an instant enables an unbeliever to see God and His Truth thereby resulting in his/her submission to the gospel......the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is only the efficacious grace of God that enables a spiritually dead person to see, or come alive and then choose that which is pleasing to God. Therefore, none of us can take credit for our salvation for it is all God's doing. And this will completely obliterate man's arrogance (which in his pride he can not stand........none shall glory in the presence of God). It is grace and grace alone that saved those of us who are saved. We had nothing to do with it because as you recall, we were one of those corpses in the local morgue unable to choose because we were dead, not just physically but spiritually as well. Only now, because we have raised from our spiritual death and the bondage of our will to sin, do we have the ability to choose that which is pleasing in God's eyes. In other words, because we have the Holy spirit inside us, we will have more of a desire to choose that which will glorify God. Do we always choose that which will glorify God? No, because we who are saved by the blood of Jesus still have a free will to choose God's will or our own flesh. The apostle Paul speaks of this in Romans chapter 7 and his struggle with his very powerful flesh that was at war with his spirit. Thank the Lord Jesus in His mercy, for He understood this.......that is why He died in our place for our sins. He knew of our inability (in and of ourselves) to obtain righteousness through the Law.
Why do we want so badly to take credit for our "goodness" and why do we put so much stock in vain traditions and man made philosophies? The apostle Paul stated clearly in Galatians 1 verse 10, "For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after men. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ". This nullifies the traditions of men so Paul would not "frustrate the grace of God........for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain". (Galatians 2, verse 21). And in chapter 3 verse 11....."that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, for it is evident that the just shall live by faith". God forbid I should glory, save only in the cross of Jesus Christ.
For the Believer choosing God's will and His best should take some effort to seek His face in those matters. Even though God may show the way, sometimes Believers choose their own way. Our flesh is feverish and impulsive and yes, selfish. We tend to be hasty and sometimes miss the way. Sometimes we are hard of hearing and are in definite need of a hearing aid! In those times, dependence upon God is a must and His grace will be sufficient. He understands our frame and knows we are but dust.
There is so much more to extrapolate but I will allow the reader to do so at his or her perusal. So if you like books, and you are interested in learning new scripture, this book will, no doubt, enhance you comprehension of deeper spiritual truths and challenge you to look beyond what you see. It will give you insight and deepen your love and understanding of this amazing God who is always in control!